BorgWarner Inc. and Consolidated Subsidiaries Consolidated Statements of Operations - USD ($) shares in Millions, $ in Millions	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2019	Sep. 30, 2019	Jun. 30, 2019	Mar. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018	Sep. 30, 2018	Jun. 30, 2018	Mar. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Income Statement [Abstract]
Net sales	$ 2,559	$ 2,492	$ 2,551	$ 2,566	$ 2,574	$ 2,478	$ 2,694	$ 2,784	$ 10,168	$ 10,530	$ 9,799
Cost of sales	2,014	1,968	2,038	2,047	2,030	1,963	2,114	2,193	8,067	8,300	7,684
Gross profit	545	524	513	519	544	515	580	591	2,101	2,230	2,115
Selling, general and administrative expenses	205	230	212	226	226	230	237	253	873	946	899
Other (income) expense, net	(138)	18	16	29	52	7	30	5	(75)	94	144
Operating income	478	276	285	264	266	278	313	333	1,303	1,190	1,072
Equity in affiliates’ earnings, net of tax	(7)	(7)	(9)	(9)	(11)	(15)	(13)	(10)	(32)	(49)	(51)
Interest income	(3)	(4)	(2)	(3)	(2)	(1)	(1)	(2)	(12)	(6)	(6)
Interest expense	12	15	14	14	14	14	15	16	55	59	71
Other postretirement income	1	(1)	27	0	(2)	(3)	(2)	(3)	27	(10)	(5)
Earnings before income taxes and noncontrolling interest	475	273	255	262	267	283	314	332	1,265	1,196	1,063
Provision for income taxes	238	66	73	91	19	67	30	95	468	211	580
Net earnings	237	207	182	171	248	216	284	237	797	985	483
Net earnings attributable to the noncontrolling interest, net of tax	17	13	10	11	18	12	12	12	51	54	43
Net earnings attributable to BorgWarner Inc.	$ 220	$ 194	$ 172	$ 160	$ 230	$ 204	$ 272	$ 225	$ 746	$ 931	$ 440
Earnings per share — basic	$ 1.07	$ 0.94	$ 0.84	$ 0.77	$ 1.11	$ 0.98	$ 1.30	$ 1.07	$ 3.63	$ 4.47	$ 2.09
Earnings per share — diluted	$ 1.06	$ 0.94	$ 0.83	$ 0.77	$ 1.10	$ 0.98	$ 1.30	$ 1.07	$ 3.61	$ 4.44	$ 2.08
Weighted average shares outstanding:
Basic									205.7	208.2	210.4
Diluted									206.8	209.5	211.5