| **Earnings Per Share Attributable to Navistar International Corporation (Tables)** | 12 Months Ended                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          |
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| **Earnings Per Share [Abstract]**                                                  |                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     |
| Information used in the calculation of basic and diluted earnings per share        | The following table shows the information used in the calculation of our basic and diluted earnings per share attributable to Navistar International Corporation as of October 31:  2011 2010 2009(in millions, except per share data)     Numerator:     Income attributable to Navistar International Corporation before extraordinary gain$1,723 $223 $297Extraordinary gain, net of tax— — 23Net income attributable to Navistar International Corporation available to common stockholders$1,723 $223 $320Denominator:     Weighted average shares outstanding:     Basic72.8 71.7 71.0Effect of dilutive securities3.3 1.5 0.8Diluted76.1 73.2 71.8      Basic earnings per share:     Income attributable to Navistar International Corporation before extraordinary gain$23.66 $3.11 $4.18Extraordinary gain, net of tax— — 0.33Net income attributable to Navistar International Corporation$23.66 $3.11 $4.51      Diluted earnings per share     Income attributable to Navistar International Corporation before extraordinary gain$22.64 $3.05 $4.14Extraordinary gain, net of tax— — 0.32Net income attributable to Navistar International Corporation$22.64 $3.05 $4.46 |

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| - Definition
Tabular disclosure of the reconciliation of basic net earnings per share (or unit) to diluted earnings per share (or unit).
+ References
Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Topic 260 -SubTopic 10 -Publisher FASB -Number  -Article  -Subparagraph  -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Paragraph 1 -Section 50 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6371337&loc=d3e3550-109257
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