Document and Entity Information (USD $)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2012	Jun. 30, 2012	Mar. 04, 2013 Common Class A [Member]	Mar. 04, 2013 Common Class B [Member]
Entity Registrant Name	TECUMSEH PRODUCTS COMPANY
Entity Central Index Key	0000096831
Document Type	10-K
Document Period End Date	Dec. 31, 2012
Amendment Flag	false
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2012
Document Fiscal Period Focus	FY
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding			13,401,938	5,077,746
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	No
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Public Float		$ 84,157,412