Just got back from a trip (Los Angeles to Phoenix and return). Running in the desert with temps from 106 to 110 the AC seemed to be straining to keep the cabin comfortable. With most of the front vents pointing at me I was ok, but if I put my hand toward the windshield, the hand was hot. Normal?
Even with the tinting to cut down infrared energy passing through, the windshield is going to have a green house effect on the dash. Then the air there may not be getting circulated into the rest of cabin air. So a warmer bubble there is to be expected. These are triple digit temperatures for the A/C to contend with.
How’s it running today now that you are out of the desert heat? Possibly any leaks developed or rocks hit a fin or coil causing a minor weapage? How does the sight glass flow look?
It should be semi-readily visible, on an aluminum AC line, maybe adjacent to a connection point. If it's similar to Prius, properly charged you should be seeing barely any or no bubbles while the fans and compressor are running. When they shut off, there'll be a little swirl of bubbles maybe.
