Supplemental Guarantor Condensed Consolidating Balance Sheets (Details) (USD $) In Millions, unless otherwise specified	Mar. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Mar. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
Current Assets
Cash and cash equivalents	$ 205.7	$ 249.2	$ 79.6	$ 154.0
Accounts receivable, net	668.0us-gaap_ReceivablesNetCurrent	532.7us-gaap_ReceivablesNetCurrent
Intercompany receivables	0axl_Intercompanyreceivables	0axl_Intercompanyreceivables
Inventories, net	238.5us-gaap_InventoryNet	248.8us-gaap_InventoryNet
Other current assets	111.8us-gaap_OtherAssetsCurrent	108.8us-gaap_OtherAssetsCurrent
Total current assets	1,224.0us-gaap_AssetsCurrent	1,139.5us-gaap_AssetsCurrent
Property, plant and equipment, net	1,040.0us-gaap_PropertyPlantAndEquipmentNet	1,061.1us-gaap_PropertyPlantAndEquipmentNet
Goodwill	154.3us-gaap_Goodwill	155.0us-gaap_Goodwill
Intercompany notes and accounts receivable	0axl_Intercompanynotesreceivable	0axl_Intercompanynotesreceivable
Other assets and deferred charges	889.5axl_OtherAssetsNoncurrentCondensed	903.6axl_OtherAssetsNoncurrentCondensed
Investment in subsidiaries	0us-gaap_EquityMethodInvestments	0us-gaap_EquityMethodInvestments
Total assets	3,307.8us-gaap_Assets	3,259.2us-gaap_Assets
Current Liabilities
Current portion of long-term debt	13.9us-gaap_LongTermDebtCurrent	13.0us-gaap_LongTermDebtCurrent
Accounts payable	489.8us-gaap_AccountsPayableCurrent	444.3us-gaap_AccountsPayableCurrent
Intercompany payables	0axl_Intercompanypayables	0axl_Intercompanypayables
Other current liabilities	228.3axl_OtherLiabilitiesCurrentCondensed	229.9axl_OtherLiabilitiesCurrentCondensed
Total current liabilities	732.0us-gaap_LiabilitiesCurrent	687.2us-gaap_LiabilitiesCurrent
Intercompany notes and accounts payable	0axl_IntercompanyPayableReceivable	0axl_IntercompanyPayableReceivable
Long-term debt	1,520.8	1,523.4
Investment in subsidiaries obligation	0axl_InvestmentInSubsidiariesObligation	0axl_InvestmentInSubsidiariesObligation
Other long-term liabilities	912.7us-gaap_OtherLiabilitiesNoncurrent	935.2us-gaap_OtherLiabilitiesNoncurrent
Total liabilities	3,165.5us-gaap_Liabilities	3,145.8us-gaap_Liabilities
Total stockholders’ equity	142.3	113.4
Total liabilities and stockholders' equity	3,307.8	3,259.2
Holdings [Member]
Current Assets
Cash and cash equivalents	0	0	0	0
Accounts receivable, net	0	0
Intercompany receivables	0	0
Inventories, net	0	0
Other current assets	0	0
Total current assets	0	0
Property, plant and equipment, net	0	0
Goodwill	0	0
Intercompany notes and accounts receivable	0	0
Other assets and deferred charges	0	0
Investment in subsidiaries	463.1	433.8
Total assets	463.1	433.8
Current Liabilities
Current portion of long-term debt	0	0
Accounts payable	0	0
Intercompany payables	0	0
Other current liabilities	0	0
Total current liabilities	0	0
Intercompany notes and accounts payable	320.8	320.4
Long-term debt	0	0
Investment in subsidiaries obligation	0	0
Other long-term liabilities	0	0
Total liabilities	320.8	320.4
Total stockholders’ equity	142.3	113.4
Total liabilities and stockholders' equity	463.1	433.8
AAM Inc. [Member]
Current Assets
Cash and cash equivalents	80.1	69.7	9.5	36.9
Accounts receivable, net	165.9	137.5
Intercompany receivables	212.7	231.0
Inventories, net	67.4	64.9
Other current assets	55.3	53.6
Total current assets	581.4	556.7
Property, plant and equipment, net	224.8	230.0
Goodwill	0	0
Intercompany notes and accounts receivable	489.9	509.4
Other assets and deferred charges	719.8	736.6
Investment in subsidiaries	1,173.8	1,134.6
Total assets	3,189.7	3,167.3
Current Liabilities
Current portion of long-term debt	10.3	9.4
Accounts payable	143.1	127.3
Intercompany payables	191.0	177.0
Other current liabilities	108.4	121.0
Total current liabilities	452.8	434.7
Intercompany notes and accounts payable	6.9	6.9
Long-term debt	1,480.3	1,483.1
Investment in subsidiaries obligation	0	0
Other long-term liabilities	786.6	808.8
Total liabilities	2,726.6	2,733.5
Total stockholders’ equity	463.1	433.8
Total liabilities and stockholders' equity	3,189.7	3,167.3
Guarantor Subsidiaries [Member]
Current Assets
Cash and cash equivalents	0	0	0	0
Accounts receivable, net	30.4	23.9
Intercompany receivables	194.7	174.1
Inventories, net	31.7	32.3
Other current assets	2.5	2.6
Total current assets	259.3	232.9
Property, plant and equipment, net	86.9	87.9
Goodwill	147.9	147.9
Intercompany notes and accounts receivable	226.0	219.1
Other assets and deferred charges	47.0	45.7
Investment in subsidiaries	0	0
Total assets	767.1	733.5
Current Liabilities
Current portion of long-term debt	0	0
Accounts payable	45.8	38.9
Intercompany payables	114.9	105.3
Other current liabilities	5.2	4.4
Total current liabilities	165.9	148.6
Intercompany notes and accounts payable	0	0
Long-term debt	4.9	4.9
Investment in subsidiaries obligation	83.6	53.8
Other long-term liabilities	0.7	0.6
Total liabilities	255.1	207.9
Total stockholders’ equity	512.0	525.6
Total liabilities and stockholders' equity	767.1	733.5
Non-Guarantor Subsidiaries [Member]
Current Assets
Cash and cash equivalents	125.6	179.5	70.1	117.1
Accounts receivable, net	471.7	371.3
Intercompany receivables	9.4	10.0
Inventories, net	139.4	151.6
Other current assets	54.0	52.6
Total current assets	800.1	765.0
Property, plant and equipment, net	728.3	743.2
Goodwill	6.4	7.1
Intercompany notes and accounts receivable	0	0
Other assets and deferred charges	122.7	121.3
Investment in subsidiaries	0	0
Total assets	1,657.5	1,636.6
Current Liabilities
Current portion of long-term debt	3.6	3.6
Accounts payable	300.9	278.1
Intercompany payables	110.9	132.8
Other current liabilities	114.7	104.5
Total current liabilities	530.1	519.0
Intercompany notes and accounts payable	388.2	401.2
Long-term debt	35.6	35.4
Investment in subsidiaries obligation	0	0
Other long-term liabilities	125.4	125.8
Total liabilities	1,079.3	1,081.4
Total stockholders’ equity	578.2	555.2
Total liabilities and stockholders' equity	1,657.5	1,636.6
Elims [Member]
Current Assets
Cash and cash equivalents	0	0	0	0
Accounts receivable, net	0	0
Intercompany receivables	(416.8)	(415.1)
Inventories, net	0	0
Other current assets	0	0
Total current assets	(416.8)	(415.1)
Property, plant and equipment, net	0	0
Goodwill	0	0
Intercompany notes and accounts receivable	(715.9)	(728.5)
Other assets and deferred charges	0	0
Investment in subsidiaries	(1,636.9)	(1,568.4)
Total assets	(2,769.6)	(2,712.0)
Current Liabilities
Current portion of long-term debt	0	0
Accounts payable	0	0
Intercompany payables	(416.8)	(415.1)
Other current liabilities	0	0
Total current liabilities	(416.8)	(415.1)
Intercompany notes and accounts payable	(715.9)	(728.5)
Long-term debt	0	0
Investment in subsidiaries obligation	(83.6)	(53.8)
Other long-term liabilities	0	0
Total liabilities	(1,216.3)	(1,197.4)
Total stockholders’ equity	(1,553.3)	(1,514.6)
Total liabilities and stockholders' equity	$ (2,769.6)	$ (2,712.0)

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This element represents the net payables/(receivables) arising from transactions between (a) a parent company and its subsidiaries; (b) subsidiaries of a common parent; (c) an entity and trusts for the benefit of employees, such as pension and profit-sharing trusts that are managed by or under the trusteeship of the entity's' management; (d) an entity and its principal, owners, management, or members of their immediate families; and (e) affiliates.

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This item represents an obligation arising from a credit-balance carrying amount on the entity's balance sheet of its investment in common stock of an equity method investee. This is not an indicator of the fair value of the investment, rather it is the initial cost adjusted for the entity's share of earnings and losses of the investee, adjusted for any distributions (dividends) and other than temporary impairment (OTTI) losses recognized.

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Aggregate carrying amount, as of the balance sheet date, of noncurrent assets not separately disclosed in the condensed balance sheet that is included in the Supplemental Guarantor disclosure. Noncurrent assets are expected to be realized or consumed after one year (or the normal operating cycle, if longer). In addition to the items included in Other Assets and Deferred Charges on the Consolidated Balance Sheet, for purposes of the Supplemental Guarantor disclsoure, this line item also includes Deferred Taxes, Noncurrent and the Noncurrent portion of the GM Postretirment Cost Sharing Asset.

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Aggregate carrying amount, as of the balance sheet date, of obligations incurred and payable, pertaining to costs that are statutory in nature, are incurred on contractual obligations, or accumulate over time and for which invoices have not yet been received or will not be rendered and of liabilities not separately included in the Supplemental Guarantor disclosure. Used to reflect the current portion of the liabilities (due within one year or within the normal operating cycle if longer). In addition to the items included in Other Accrued Expenses on the Consolidated Balance Sheet, for purposes of the Supplemental Guarantor disclsoure, this line item also includes Accrued Compensation and Benefits, Deferred Revenue and Deferred Taxes, Current.

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Carrying value as of the balance sheet date of liabilities incurred (and for which invoices have typically been received) and payable to vendors for goods and services received that are used in an entity's business. Used to reflect the current portion of the liabilities (due within one year or within the normal operating cycle if longer).

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Sum of the carrying amounts as of the balance sheet date of all assets that are recognized. Assets are probable future economic benefits obtained or controlled by an entity as a result of past transactions or events.

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Sum of the carrying amounts as of the balance sheet date of all assets that are expected to be realized in cash, sold, or consumed within one year (or the normal operating cycle, if longer). Assets are probable future economic benefits obtained or controlled by an entity as a result of past transactions or events.

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Amount of currency on hand as well as demand deposits with banks or financial institutions. Includes other kinds of accounts that have the general characteristics of demand deposits. Also includes short-term, highly liquid investments that are both readily convertible to known amounts of cash and so near their maturity that they present insignificant risk of changes in value because of changes in interest rates. Excludes cash and cash equivalents within disposal group and discontinued operation.

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Amount after accumulated impairment loss of an asset representing future economic benefits arising from other assets acquired in a business combination that are not individually identified and separately recognized.

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Sum of the carrying amounts as of the balance sheet date of all liabilities that are recognized. Liabilities are probable future sacrifices of economic benefits arising from present obligations of an entity to transfer assets or provide services to other entities in the future.

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Amount of liabilities and equity items, including the portion of equity attributable to noncontrolling interests, if any.

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Total obligations incurred as part of normal operations that are expected to be paid during the following twelve months or within one business cycle, if longer.

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Amount of long-term debt and capital lease obligation due after one year or beyond the normal operating cycle, if longer.

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Amount of long-term debt, after unamortized discount or premium, scheduled to be repaid within one year or the normal operating cycle, if longer. Includes, but not limited to, notes payable, bonds payable, debentures, mortgage loans and commercial paper. Excludes capital lease obligations.

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Aggregate carrying amount, as of the balance sheet date, of current assets not separately disclosed in the balance sheet. Current assets are expected to be realized or consumed within one year (or the normal operating cycle, if longer).

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Aggregate carrying amount, as of the balance sheet date, of noncurrent obligations not separately disclosed in the balance sheet. Noncurrent liabilities are expected to be paid after one year (or the normal operating cycle, if longer).

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Amount after accumulated depreciation, depletion and amortization of physical assets used in the normal conduct of business to produce goods and services and not intended for resale. Examples include, but are not limited to, land, buildings, machinery and equipment, office equipment, and furniture and fixtures.

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The total amount due to the entity within one year of the balance sheet date (or one operating cycle, if longer) from outside sources, including trade accounts receivable, notes and loans receivable, as well as any other types of receivables, net of allowances established for the purpose of reducing such receivables to an amount that approximates their net realizable value.

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Amount of stockholders' equity (deficit), net of receivables from officers, directors, owners, and affiliates of the entity, attributable to both the parent and noncontrolling interests. Amount excludes temporary equity. Alternate caption for the concept is permanent equity.

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