Yes. A rattle for a second or two when you fire up a Mk6 GTI is the timing-chain tensioner until it is proven otherwise. Do not let anyone tell you it is just a cold engine. It is the fault that made the EA888's name.
On the Gen 1 and early Gen 2 engines (the 2010 to 2014 Mk6 GTI, engine codes CCTA and CBFA) the tensioner bleeds down and lets the chain go slack, usually on a hot restart or when you switch off.
Here is why I will not let it wait: if that chain jumps a tooth the engine loses timing, and on an interference engine that means bent valves. That is the difference between a cheap morning and a rebuild.
What I do:
- Fit the revised tensioner that supersedes the original. That is the cure, and I do it at the first rattle, not the tenth.
- If the chain, guides or sprockets show any wear, do the full chain kit while I am in there. It sits at the flywheel end, so the labour is the same whether I change one part or the lot.
For comparison, the Mk7 (Gen 3, 2015 on) reworked the design and I see far fewer of them, though I still listen to a high-mileage one before I sign it off.
It is cheap today. It is not cheap if you leave it.