I own a 2001 Maxima SE. A couple of days ago, after driving at 60-70 mph for 20-30 minutes, I walked by the rear-left wheel and felt a lot of heat radiating from it. I quickly touched the rim and it was very hot. Definitely would get burned if I left my hand on it. I touched the rotor with a stick and it burned and smoked a bit. I examined the other rims and they were hot but I could place my hand on them without getting burned. When driving, there is no noise at all to indicate something is wrong. Driving and braking characteristics also feel normal. Wondering is anyone else has experienced this problem.

 

My guess: Seized/sticking caliper.

 

Bingo, this happened on my Explorer. Replace calipers in pairs.

 

it could also be a dragging parking brake cable

 

That happened on my 97 SE, sticking left rear caliper. You can either take it apart and clean it up or replace the whole thing. I replaced the whole thing as my car had over 135k miles on it at the time. Most people recommend doing both at the same time, although IMO its not necessary. Lastly, check and make sure the rotor is not warped due to the high heat. Good luck.

 

Replace calibers, i have a 2000 Max, i had to replace both of them , 114k right rear went, replaced <$84 rebuilt> about a month later the left rear went.

 

Jack up both rears and spin test them for drag. See how much worse the left is and play around with the e-brake a bit. Maybe dis and re-connect that ebrake cable to see if it's that or the caliper piston at fault.

 

same problem, they lubed the piston, worked like a charm