| **Financial Instruments and Commodity Contracts - Narrative (Details) - USD ($)** | Oct. 31, 2016 | Oct. 31, 2015 | Oct. 31, 2014 |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------|---------------|---------------|
| **Derivative [Line Items]**                                                       |          |          |          |
| Derivative, Amount of Hedged Item                                                 | $ 0           | $ 0           | $ 0           |
| Derivative, Collateral, Obligation to Return Cash                                 | 1,000,000     | 1,000,000     |          |
| Exposure to Credit Risk                                                           | 3,000,000     | 1,000,000     |          |
| Commodity Contract [Member]                                                       |          |          |          |
| **Derivative [Line Items]**                                                       |          |          |          |
| Derivative, Notional Amount                                                       | 8,000,000     | 6,000,000     |          |
| Commodity Contract, Diesel Fuel [Member]                                          |          |          |          |
| **Derivative [Line Items]**                                                       |          |          |          |
| Derivative, Notional Amount                                                       | 4,000,000     | 24,000,000    |          |
| ERROR in label resolution.                                                        |          |          |          |
| **Derivative [Line Items]**                                                       |          |          |          |
| Derivative, Notional Amount                                                       | 0             | 0             |          |
| Mexican Financial Services [Member] | Asset-backed Securities [Member]            |          |          |          |
| **Derivative [Line Items]**                                                       |          |          |          |
| Derivative, Notional Amount                                                       | $ 156,000,000 | $ 108,000,000 |          |

| X                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          |
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - Definition
Aggregate notional amount specified by the derivative(s). Expressed as an absolute value.
+ References
Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher SEC -Name Regulation S-X (SX) -Number 210 -Article 12 -Section 13 -Sentence Column B
+ Details**Name:**invest_DerivativeNotionalAmount**Namespace Prefix:**invest_**Data Type:**xbrli:monetaryItemType**Balance Type:**na**Period Type:**instant |
| X                                                                                                                                                                                                                               |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - Definition
Exposure to Credit Risk
+ References
No definition available.
+ Details**Name:**nav_ExposureToCreditRisk**Namespace Prefix:**nav_**Data Type:**xbrli:monetaryItemType**Balance Type:**debit**Period Type:**instant |
| X                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            |
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - Definition
Amount of the hedged item as of the balance sheet date related to the derivative. For example, the hedged balance on a debt instrument.
+ References
No definition available.
+ Details**Name:**us-gaap_DerivativeAmountOfHedgedItem**Namespace Prefix:**us-gaap_**Data Type:**xbrli:monetaryItemType**Balance Type:**na**Period Type:**instant |
| X                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - Definition
Amount of obligation to return cash collateral under master netting arrangements that have not been offset against derivative assets.
+ References
Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 815 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 8 -Subparagraph (b) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=64837297&loc=d3e41678-113959Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 210 -SubTopic 20 -Section 50 -Paragraph 3 -Subparagraph (d)(2) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=51824906&loc=SL20225862-175312Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 210 -SubTopic 20 -Section 55 -Paragraph 13 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=51825145&loc=SL20226016-175313
+ Details**Name:**us-gaap_DerivativeCollateralObligationToReturnCash**Namespace Prefix:**us-gaap_**Data Type:**xbrli:monetaryItemType**Balance Type:**credit**Period Type:**instant |
| X                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           |
|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - Definition
Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.
+ References
No definition available.
+ Details**Name:**us-gaap_DerivativeLineItems**Namespace Prefix:**us-gaap_**Data Type:**xbrli:stringItemType**Balance Type:**na**Period Type:**duration |
| X                                                                                                                                                             |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - Details**Name:**us-gaap_DerivativeInstrumentRiskAxis=nav_CommodityContractSteelMember**Namespace Prefix:****Data Type:**na**Balance Type:****Period Type:** |
| X                                                                                                                                                                  |
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - Details**Name:**us-gaap_DerivativeInstrumentRiskAxis=nav_CommodityContractDieselFuelMember**Namespace Prefix:****Data Type:**na**Balance Type:****Period Type:** |
| X                                                                                                                                                               |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - Details**Name:**us-gaap_DerivativeInstrumentRiskAxis=us-gaap_InterestRateContractMember**Namespace Prefix:****Data Type:**na**Balance Type:****Period Type:** |
| X                                                                                                                                                   |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - Details**Name:**dei_EntityByLocationAxis=nav_MexicanFinancialServicesMember**Namespace Prefix:****Data Type:**na**Balance Type:****Period Type:** |
| X                                                                                                                                                                |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - Details**Name:**us-gaap_DerivativeInstrumentRiskAxis=us-gaap_AssetBackedSecuritiesMember**Namespace Prefix:****Data Type:**na**Balance Type:****Period Type:** |