So I noticed this today, there is an occasional dragging sound in the back rear passenger side, it doesn't happen all the time, it doesn't appear that anything is amiss but something is up, I don't think that it is the bearing because I don't feel the drag, it just sounds like plastic dragging, anyone else have this problem?

 

I doubt that you would feel a bad wheel bearing dragging.

Does the sound change with speed? That is something a wheel bearing would do.

Can you tell what side of the car it is coming from.

Look under the car an see what you can see. Check the muffler, maybe it's falling apart.

 

It's on the passenger side, like I said, it's occasional, not constant, i think it started today, I drive a ton and often have my windows down but I'm not sure, the max also has 181,xxx miles on it

 

So I only notice it when I slow down after driving at least half a mile or just start driving, the muffler appears to be fine from the outside, all the rubber brackets are good, nothing is out of place after a quick look over

 

There is a possibility that you have the brake dragging. This could be a bad caliper. If the parking brake cable did that (which it could) the drag would not come and go. When you hear the sound, stop the car and feel the wheel in the center, the lug nut area. If you have dragging brakes, the wheel will be burn-your-hand hot. Even normally it will be warm to hot, depending on how much breaking you are doing. Check the other side for comparison.

If the dragging sounds metallic, maybe the metal splash shield behind the brakes is bent, loose or somehow touching the rotor.

 

As indicated by DennisMike my first thoughts are you have a sluggish brake caliper and the passenger side rear is one of the common ones to die first on our Maxima's. I would start there and confirm that your caliper is not dragging.

 

How much would one of these run me?

 

I am in Canada so I can only speak on the price that it cost me to replace my rear passenger side caliper which was 160.00 bucks which included the labor. If your handy with your hands it really is a do it your self job which will help on the cost issue. I had a shop do mine because I broke the retaining bolt on one side and needed it drilled out.

 

So I know it's not my metal splash plate, i haven't checked my calipers yet, so just wondering, what else could it possibly be if it is not that, so I have a general list

 

I think you have all the options. Unless there is some foreign material that got wedged up in the wheel area.

Time to take a look see.

 

Ok, so it's a pulsating sound, once a rotation, every once in a while, so I did the caliper test and neither rim was super hot, I'm not touching the roter cause I'm not stupid, I have not checked for foreign materials so that's my next check when I have a chance to get the wheel off and look at it

 

Never mind, it is very hot, but I wouldn't say burn your hand hot, I could hold my fingers on the problem rim for more than 3 seconds before it was very hot, is this just early signs of a bad caliper?