Not sure what to title this.
Ok, so I just spent almost 800 dollars on a new set of tires because the one's that came with my 2010 element have already worn through after a mere 20,000 miles?!
Les schwab, costco (where I bought the tires) and the Honda dealer (where I bought my element) all said it was the alignment because it was my two right tires that had worn almost all the way through. Well, after I got the new tires I took it back to Honda to have it aligned because they said they'd do it for free, but now they say the alignment is fine? Guess I'll take it someplace else.

Ok, so here's my issue. Just 3 days before I got a flat and les schwab told me my tires were shot (the next day confirmed by The Honda dealer) I had my element serviced and looking through the report they gave me it says they looked at my tires and they were good. :?

So this makes me wonder how long has my alignment been off? Why didn't Honda notice the condition of my tires sooner? Might I have been spared the crippling cost of new tires if the condition was diagnosed before my tires were beyond salvage? I'm still an inexperienced driver, and had no idea what low tread looks like. It looked fine to me. :-(

Do I have grounds for a complaint here? Please, any feedback you can give me would be really appreciated.

Post some pix of all four of your tires. No way of knowing anything with just
your description. Post pix of the front and rear of your E, that shows the
tires.

20,000 miles on new tires on a new E is really low!! I know that people
complain about the OEM tires, but they have to last more that 20K. Its
weird that they only wore out on one side.

How often do you rotate your tires?
How do you rotate, per the owners manual or just front to back??
I assumed you bought your E new since its a 2010, but was it new or used??
When you bought it, how many miles did it have on it??
What model and size tire are on it now??

That will help us help you.

I have 48k on the OEM tires. If you don't rotate the tires every 5k you will likely have problems. I have found that the right front tire wears down the outside edge first.

I skipped a tire rotation interval and I can still find the exact tire that was on the right front from that rotation.

Your tires should be rotated in a modified X pattern, the pattern is in the owner's manual. RF to RR, RR to LF, LF to LR, LR to RF is what I do (I'm pretty sure that's what was in the manual).

Additionally, I feel that Honda pulled a page from Ford's book and recommends a tire pressure that yields ride comfort and sacrifices tire life. Many here, including myself run the tires "over inflated." (Do not exceed the pressure noted on the side wall.) This will keep the shoulder tread from wearing out before the center tread. I usually inflate to 37 psi in the front and 39 psi in the rear. If I'm anticipating colder weather, I'll bump the pressure up a couple pounds preemptively.

my element has 43,xxx miles and still rolling on original tires, although i plan on changing them in 5-7K miles... tires need to be rotated every other oil change, ~ 6-7K miles.

Generally, a "free alignment" is worth less than what you pay for it. Suggest you get a 4 wheel alignment done when you replace the tires, and do a little reading to learn how to identify wheel imbalance, misinflation, and misalignment using eyeballs, pressure and tread depth gages. One hour of your time learning this, and a few minutes per month using the knowledge can save you $$$$$$$.

The sticker pressures are a compromise between best handling and comfort and load carrying capacity. Check the pressure whenever the temperature changes by more than 10 degrees. Assuming that the alignment is OK, and rotation is done every 5K, if you use OEM-size tires and keep them inflated to the pressures shown on the door sticker you'll maximize tread life.

Tire rotation is front to back, no crossover. 5K rotations should distribute wear evenly between front and rear tires.

Generally, a "free alignment" is worth less than what you pay for it. Suggest you get a 4 wheel alignment done when you replace the tires, and do a little reading to learn how to identify wheel imbalance, misinflation, and misalignment using eyeballs, pressure and tread depth gages. One hour of your time learning this, and a few minutes per month using the knowledge can save you $$$$$$$.

The sticker pressures are a compromise between best handling and comfort and load carrying capacity. Check the pressure whenever the temperature changes by more than 10 degrees. Assuming that the alignment is OK, and rotation is done every 5K, if you use OEM-size tires and keep them inflated to the pressures shown on the door sticker you'll maximize tread life.

Tire rotation is front to back, no crossover. 5K rotations should distribute wear evenly between front and rear tires.

I bought my element new.
Thank you dude, this is quite helpful. All your comments were, I appreciate the input. Sorry for late response, I wanted to get some information together first. Thought I might be able to get my old tires back. (I let costco recycle them. There was a couple I could have used as spares but didn't see the point) I had pics of them before they were replaced but now seem to have misplaced...

I never rotated my tires which probably at least partially explains it. I was never told it was needed. (And like I mentioned before, I don't have much experience working on cars) I stupidly expected the honda dealer to be checking these things when I brought it in for servicing but see now how foolish that was. (though I'm still going somewhere else from now on) I'll have to read up more on maintenance, there seems to be a fair wealth of information here... Next up, battery troubles. :p

I got a full alignment done at les schwab, not surprisingly they did find something wrong with front and back.

Tire rotation is front to back, no crossover. 5K rotations should distribute wear evenly between front and rear tires.

See the owner's manual, page 211 for the 2007. Front to back, back to opposite front unless you are driving on directional tires.