Income Taxes (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions		3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Oct. 30, 2019	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 Tax Information [Line Items]
Tax benefit on nontaxable gain from derecognition of subsidiary	$ 37
Gain on derecognition of subsidiary	177									$ 177	$ 0	$ 0
Earnings before income taxes and the provision for income taxes
Earnings before income taxes - U.S.										310	220	203
Earnings before income taxes - Non-U.S.										955	976	860
Earnings before income taxes and noncontrolling interest		$ 475	$ 273	$ 255	$ 262	$ 267	$ 283	$ 314	$ 332	1,265	1,196	1,063
Current:
Federal										32	17	36
State										4	5	5
Foreign										245	259	247
Total current										281	281	288
Deferred:
Federal										150	(40)	324
State										23	(8)	2
Foreign										14	(22)	(34)
Total deferred										187	(70)	292
Provision for income taxes		238	$ 66	$ 73	$ 91	19	67	30	$ 95	$ 468	$ 211	$ 580
Effective tax rate										37.00%	17.70%	54.70%
U.S. Federal Corporate Tax Rate prior to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act												35.00%
U.S. Federal Corporate Tax Rate After the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act											21.00%
Tax reform adjustments to provision for income taxes										$ 16	$ (13)	$ 274
Income tax expense, revaluation of deferred tax assets and liabilities due to change of tax law												75
Income tax expense related to executive compensation due to change of tax law												11
Income Tax Expense (Benefit), Continuing Operations, Adjustment of Deferred Tax (Asset) Liability												105
Increase of deferred tax liabilities, future remittance of foreign earnings, due to the Act												$ 94
Increase (decrease) in deferred tax assets due to final SAB 118 adjustments											13
Increase (decrease) in deferred tax assets, executive compensation, final SAB 118 adjustments											9
Income tax expense, one-time transition tax measurement period adjustment due to change of tax law											8
Decrease in deferred tax liability, indefinite reinvestment assertion, measurement period adjustments due to change of law											7
Effective rate reconciliation measurement period adjustments due to the Tax Act						$ (7)	$ 7	$ 13			$ 13
Tax expense on net remittance of foreign earnings										22
Undistributed Earnings of Foreign Subsidiaries		400								400
Deferred Tax Liability Not Recognized, Amount of Unrecognized Deferred Tax Liability, Undistributed Earnings of Foreign Subsidiaries		$ 20								$ 20
BorgWarner Morse TEC LLC [Member]
Income Tax Information [Line Items]
Tax expense on derecognition of subsidiary	$ 173