VEHICLE TIRE SENSOR RETAINING SYSTEM

A vehicle tire sensor retaining system (10) is disclosed comprising: a tire (12) including a pair of sidewalls (20), each one of which extends radially outwardly from a respective bead area (16) to a ground-contacting tread (22) comprising a plurality of tread elements (32); a sensor unit (28) being mounted to the tire (12), the sensor unit (28) including a pair of electrical contacts (54); a tread wear sensor (44), the tread wear sensor (44) extending into a selected one of the tread elements (32) and the tread wear sensor (44) including a wire (60), the wire (60) including proximal ends (62), each one of the proximal ends (62) electrically contacting a respective one of the sensor unit electrical contacts (54) to create an electrical circuit; a flexible container (38) mounted to an innerliner (26) of the tire (12); and a cup (70), the cup (70) including a base (72) and a sidewall (76) that cooperate to form a cup cavity (82). A bottom (68) of the tread wear sensor (44) and the sensor unit (28) are received in the cavity (82) of the cup (70). The cup (70) maintains a connection between the electrical contacts (54) and the wire proximal ends (62). The cup (70) is disposed in the flexible container (38).